LCS girls basketball pulls away from Morenci

The Lenawee Christian Cougars girls basketball team controlled the backboards and held off a third quarter-rally to beat the Morenci Bulldogs 45-35 Friday.

The Cougars used their size to outrebound the Bulldogs 43-28, as Kiara Nieto pulled down 14 rebounds to go with her 11 points. Emily Gordon had nine boards with eight points. Lindsey Robideau led LCS with 12 points.

Coach Joe Long was happy to get the first win of the season, noting the Cougars had 10 offensive rebounds.

"We got off to a good start. We concentrated this week on our defense and rebounding," he said. "I was pleased with the balance. We passed well and rebounded well."

Lenawee Christian had only seven players available and all played. The Cougars were hampered even further in the fourth quarter when Laurel Schaaf fouled out. The rebounding numbers were evenly spread as Abigail Vallie pulled down five rebounds and Bethany Walker grabbed four in her varsity debut.

For Morenci, Sydney Weeks led the way with 11 points and five rebounds. Allison VanBrandt had six points with five rebounds and played a strong game defensively, according to coach Tim Yatzek.

"I thought she did a good job on their big girl (Nieto)," he said. "We got down and just couldn't come back. We've got to work on our mental toughness and our physical toughness. We are in a tough league, and we've got to get better every game."

The Cougars (1-1) led 11-8 after one quarter, but dropped in four 3-pointers in the second quarter, two by Robideau, to open up a 28-15 lead at halftime. Robideau finished with three 3-pointers on the night. Her last one late in the fourth quarter put the Cougars lead back to double digits, and they closed out the game.

Morenci (0-2) came out strong to start the second half and cut the lead to 36-29 after three, but just couldn't get closer than seven points the rest of the way. Weeks had four points, while Chloe Molitierno dropped a pair of 3-point baskets in the quarter. The Bulldogs outscored LCS 14-7 in the quarter. However, the rally fizzled out in the fourth quarter. The Cougars limited Morenci to six points in the final stanza.

Lenawee Christian will host Onsted on Thursday. Morenci will open Tri-County Conference play Tuesday at home Tuesday against Whiteford.

Morenci-Lenawee Christian JVs: Morenci posted a 33-20 win in the junior varsity game. Madison Bachman had 19 points and eight rebounds to lead the Bulldogs. Danielle Miller led LCS with nine points.

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.